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American Community Survey (ACS) Series

Investigator(s): United States
Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census.

The American Community Survey(ACS) is a nationwide
survey designed to provide communities with a fresh look at how they
are changing. It will replace the decennial long form in future
censuses and is a critical element in the Bureau of the Census'
re-engineered 2010 census. The decennial census has two parts, the
short form, which counts the population, and the long form, which
obtains demographic, housing, social and economic information from a
1-in-6 sample of households. Conducted under the authority of Title
13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, full implementation of
the American Community Survey is planned in every county in the United
States. The survey would include approximately three million
households. Response is mandatory and data are collected by mail with
Bureau of the Census staff conducting a follow-up with those who do
not respond. The goals of the American Community Survey are to
provide an information base to federal, state, and local governments
for the administration and evaluation of their programs, to improve
the 2010 Census, and to provide data users with timely demographic,
housing, social, and economic data that can be compared across states,
communities, and population groups. The American Community Survey
will provide estimates of demographic, housing, social, and economic
characteristics every year for all states, as well as for all cities,
counties, metropolitan areas, and population
groups.